PCT Week 2: Finding Routine in the Desert

Our second week on the Pacific Crest Trail started with a terrible night’s sleep. The night before, our tent had collapsed several times due to strong winds and sandy soil. We left the store, dazed and quite miserable. My back didn’t support the backpack well, so every morning was filled with stiff joints and painful stretches. It was after 8 when we finally set off that morning, wondering how much our lack of sleep would affect our day.

A few hours into our day we arrived at our first exciting landmark: the 100 mile marker! We took our obligatory marker photo and continued to our lunch spot. At this point, some parts of the trail had become very rocky and others very overgrown. Our legs were covered in scratches and our feet were starting to hurt. The pain in my left heel that I started the hike with seemed to get a little worse each day, but I was still hoping it would go away.

That night we camped under a beautiful tree a few kilometers from the town. We didn’t have any mishaps in the tent and we both slept well at night. The next morning we were able to see Eagle Rock, a famous landmark right on the trail, and enjoyed the magic of the trail with Hamburger Helper, who surprised us with beer and pretzels. Our next stop was Warner Springs!

The Hamburger Helper sign brought us some joy

The Warner Springs Community Center is a lovely spot just off the trail that houses a place for hikers to wash up, charge, refuel, and grab a cup of coffee. We bought food for a couple of days there and although the options were less than our expectations, we were grateful for the things they had. We bought some burritos from a place that sells them there and relaxed for a couple of hours.

Warner Springs Community Center

Leaving the center was a low point for me. It was cold and cloudy, and I had become painfully aware of the unequal ratio of male to female hikers around us. I was starting to think that maybe I wouldn’t make any friends, especially women, and suddenly the isolation became overwhelming. With a heavy heart and a heavier pack, we set off to do the rest of our miles. By mid-afternoon my foot pain was unbearable and we arrived at camp much later than usual.

The next morning I woke up with minimal pain in my foot. I was trying out some different recording techniques. I watched videos online just to see what would help me. The tape seemed to give a little more stability, but I was starting to take ibuprofen every day and was a little worried about the miles ahead. Still, that day we did our biggest day, 17 miles. We stopped for water at Mike’s house, where we filled a giant water tank and met another young hiker named Spice. It turned out she hiked the AT the same year I did, so we chatted for a while about people we both knew. This lifted my spirits considerably.

After our long rest there, we walked to another water source and camped above it. The water sources were moving further and further away from the trail, and our next stretch threatened to be the worst yet. Ryan and I felt low every time we had to carry gallons of water to a blue fire so we could dry out the camp. The desert was beginning to seem endless.

The endless desert

Spice and Shade Goat camped near us that night, and we were all trying to get to the same place the next day. When we woke up, we quickly walked the 8 miles to an off-trail shelter that offered drinking water and even got a ride to Anza for a little resupply. We thanked Little Bear, the owner, and stayed for lunch. The long break was good for my foot, especially since we still had a long way to go that day.

Next stop: Paradise Valley Café. Our original plan was to arrive at the cafe the next day, but it turned out that the cafe was not open during our planned arrival. Instead, we decided to try to get there in time for dinner and just camp there or nearby. There were a lot of us there, talking about the road ahead, our plans to reset in Idyllwild, and when we thought we’d get to San Jacinto. We ate burgers and fries, loaded up our stuff, and camped behind the cafe.

A dozen hikers, all eating cheeseburgers.

The next morning we saw a police officer stop 4 different vehicles as we were getting ready to go for a walk. We joked that we couldn’t get a speeding ticket because we traveled everywhere on foot. Just as I was considering asking the cop to take me back to the trail, a trail angel stopped in the parking lot to drop off two other hikers at the cafe. He asked us if we needed a ride somewhere and we were on our way again without needing to hitchhike.

We gained quite a bit of elevation that day and it felt pretty difficult. The pain in my foot increased every day. Usually by 7 miles into the day I was a little sore and taking too much ibuprofen. My backpack was also starting to drive me crazy. I couldn’t shift weight to my hips, so my upper back was carrying much of the weight. My shoulders felt so tight at the end of the day that I could barely stand it.

All of this, combined with a necessary 1 mile downhill side trail just to get water, I was feeling pretty defeated. We ended the day with a beautiful sunset, but that didn’t make up for my misery. My late-night adventures out of the store to pee were like walking on nails and I needed a better solution. We planned to reset in Idyllwild, so I knew if I could get there I would get some rest and be able to schedule a sore appointment.

Sunset with San Jacinto in the distance

The day before arriving at Idyllwild was beautiful. We spent most of the day climbing open ridges with panoramic views all the way to Palm Springs. We had a little more elevation gain than the day before and it was exhausting but rewarding. That night we arrived to camp in a beautiful high altitude pine forest. As high as we were, it was pretty cold and we discovered that Ryan’s air pad was leaking. We were both eager to get to the city to solve our problems.

We woke up with only 4 miles to walk into town. We arrived at the parking lot just as the famous Grizzly Gramps was stopping to let other hikers out. We climbed into his truck, happy with our incredible inability to stick our thumbs out until now. Once in town, we met up with Shade Goat and my AT friend Gummy Bear for breakfast. It was nice to be able to meet up with an old hiking friend.

Gummy Bear, my AT friend Cactus, and I enjoying breakfast at Red Kettle

Then Ryan and I left to do our homework. The laundromat in town had borrowed clothes, so we stood in the laundromat in strange outfits waiting for the spin cycle. We resupplied at a decent sized grocery store and on the way back to our hotel we saw the mayor. The mayor of Idyllwild is a golden retriever named Max, and what a good boy he was!

Later we went out to the town campsite to spend some time with some friends. Shade Goat and Spice were staying there and told us about a family that made magic on the trails. There we met another couple, Deanna and Bang Bang, and invited everyone to have dinner with us. We all went to a Mexican restaurant in town, laughing and sharing stories. Ryan even settled on the name of the trail we had been trying to give him: Cactus, because it draws too much water from each water source.

Our party at the Mexican restaurant

Although our new friends went hiking the next day and it would have been fun to hike with them, we were very excited to get to zero. I had made a telehealth appointment with Blaze, a physical therapist who serves hikers, for the next morning. I was nervous about being advised to take more time off than I wanted, but at least our stay in Idyllwild had been wonderful so far.